Usher
Usher (civilian name: Ray C. Rudolph) is a member of the Los Angeles Protectorate.“Counting coup?” Leister asked. He was the sole subordinate that Vantage had brought along. Rime, by contrast, had brought Usher and Arbiter from her team. Prefab from San Diego had shown up as well. - Excerpt from Drone 23.2 Personality Is notably reticent to involve himself in powers where things are not known.Drone 23.2 Appearance His cape costume, ethnicity and other distinguishing features have not been elaborated on. Abilities and Powers Usher has the ability to grant "unreliable" defenses, capable of countering Behemoths 'death aura',Behemoth swiped at him, but he was already shifting the balance of his armor, moving to block the blow with the flat of the blade. The sound of the impact was deafening, and it wasn’t something Usher’s power protected against. But Usher’s power was finnicky at best. Unreliable. At the very least, it was holding up here. - Excerpt from Interlude 24.x as well as many other powers. Usher's power was ranged, and only required him to concentrate on the person he was protecting, he could not protect more than one individual.Usher - trump effect (one parahuman?), focused to the point of applying to one person, (threat to one individual), ranged application (blaster-esque situation?), protective (harm involved?). The trump effect blocks powers, implying that the relationship to the power at the time of the trigger is direct and negative. I'm picturing Usher being lifted by TK and dragged toward some threat (building's edge? churning machinery?) with the telekinetic further back, advancing. It fulfills the trend for gaining powers to have ironic consequences if he inadvertently cancels the other parahuman's powers while being threatened and held over a large drop, and that the resulting power reshapes his life to fling him again and again into confrontations vs. parahumans like the one that nearly killed him. -Usher's Trigger event The targets of his power glowed“Usher?” Rime asked. “Hit me.” Usher didn’t respond, still struggling a bit with his precarious position, holding on to Vantage’s hand. He did close his eyes, and Rime began to glow, a sheen radiating over her hair, skin and costume. - Excerpt from Drone 23.2 and felt an "energy"Chevalier could feel a sensation crawling through his body, an energy. It didn’t invigorate, not on its own, but he could feel a kind of relief. Usher was alive, and Usher’s power coursed through him. - Excerpt from Interlude 24.x or "ripple"Usher focused his power on me. I felt it ripple through me, felt something, but it didn’t break the spell. I still couldn’t turn the slightest amount of aggression towards the kid. “No,” I said. Usher focused his power on Vantage instead, and Vantage flared with light. Starlet’s power hit him, and it didn’t do a thing. He punched her in the gut, then caught her as she went limp. - Excerpt from Drone 23.2 coursing through them. His defenses didn't protect against being pushed or thrown around allowing those with enhanced physical abilities to still effective fight against 'protected' opponents.“Ricochets,” Rime stressed. “I- shit!” I found her with my bugs, setting them on her costume. “She’s okay, just fleeing from Bambina and Starlet. The shooter doesn’t seem to be targeting the kids.” “My power makes her immune to Bambina,” Usher said. “Maybe to the explosions,” I said, “But the impact? Or something else?” He frowned. - Excerpt from Drone 23.2 Essentially while he was able to grant 'single-target power immunity' to others he could not 'protect' against the laws of physics.Usher Provided single-target power immunity to others. Protectorate - Parahuman List, bolded edit by Wildbow.As tough or invincible as a given cape might be, most were still hemmed in by the restrictions and boundaries of physics. Getting hit by something that weighed nearly nine tons sent men, women, boys and girls in costume flying, if it didn’t kill them outright. - Excerpt from Extermination 8.3 History Background Likely triggered while under the power of a cape, joined the Protectorate afterward and routinely found himself in the same type of situations. He was eventually stationed in Los Angeles with Alexandria as his superior. Post-Echidna Rime brought him along as part of team to collect Pretender for prosecution. Participated in the battle against the underage mercenaries and, as always, was inconsistently effective against them. Post-Timeskip Usher was a member of the team sent to arrest Pretender. His power was somewhat effective against the villains involved. He deployed to New Delhi with many of the other Protectorate. There Chevalier made use of his power to fight Behemoth in melee. Ward At some point he was turned into Teacher's thrall and added to Ingenue's entourage.Interlude 15.y II Post-Time Bubble Pop During the Wardens' assault on Teacher's base Usher guarded Ingenue against Valkyrie's Flock. He saved Ingenue from being obliterated by Swansong. Usher retreated to The City alongside Ingenue.As there had been armed guards guarding the way between bunker and facility, there were capes waiting for us on the other side. One of them handed me an info sheet. They hesitated before handing Kenzie one, and after a quick glance, I motioned for them to hand it to her. At Large ... Greater City Area Ingenue – Miranda Webb Leister – Jamar Lafranca Usher – Ray C. Rudolph Captain Claw – Charles Ali Black Goat/Scapegoat – William Giles 9 Soldiers, Mixed Squads - Excerpt of From Within 16.1 Trivia *Usher has numerous meanings but the most likely meaning here is 'Conduct' or 'Escort'. Fitting for a man who's power allows safe passage through danger for himself and others. Site Navigation Category:Characters Category:Heroes Category:Protectorate Category:Males Category:Trump Category:Villains Category:The Taught Category:Worm Characters Category:Ward Characters